Acalypha wilkesiana
by Techno Skittles
Summary: It's Lucy's first birthday away from home, but it'll also be her last. Nalu week Birthday prompt


_**{When you let your heart be the compass; You won't get lost, not if you trust it}**_

Lucy hummed to herself with a smile on her face and skip to her step as she walked down the spacious street, mostly devoid of life. In such a small town like this one couldn't expect the streets to be overflowing with people, but the blonde was perfectly content with this. She reached her intended destination within a reasonable time and without incident.

The bell above the door chimed in high note, announcing her entrance to the warm building. An aroma of freshly baked dough and sugar wafted around her, surrounding her completely and lulling her further into the shop. A short and burly man behind the counter turned at the sound of the bell and greeted her politely. His smile scrunched up his round nose dusted with flour and added a twinkle to his warm green eyes, greeting her with double the warmth his voice had. Lucy felt compelled to smile back at the man as she approached the counter, clutching her bag closely to her side.

"Good morning," she said, flashing him a flawless smile.

He laughed heartily and leaned on his arms placed on the counter. "Yes, I do believe it is. Is there anything I can do for you ma'am?"

Lucy's eyes strayed to the glass case beside the counter, taking in all of the beautifully crafted desserts and pastries displayed. She poked out her bottom lip in thought.

"Well, I guess I'd like a slice of cake, but I'm not sure which kind I should get." She turned back to the man. "Do you have any suggestions?"

The man hummed in thought and stroked his chin, moving behind the glass case to peer in. "Well, I'm the kind who will eat anything placed in front of me, but I think if I were to have a preference it would be lemon cake with white icing." He stood up straight again, peering over the case at Lucy. "How about it? Does that sound good?"

The celestial mage looked into the glass case again, a smile creeping onto her face. "That sounds perfect!" As an added afterthought she said, "And do you think I could have three red velvet cookies, please?"

"I am assuming this is all to go?"

Lucy nodded curtly, moving back in front of the counter. "Yes please."

The man placed her orders into plastic containers and placed the containers in a paper bag. "May I ask what the occasion is?"

She jumped slightly at his question before nervously scratching the back of her head. "Ah! It's just…a really special day today is all. Just thought I'd treat myself to a little special something."

The man handed her the bag with a twinkle in his eye and as Lucy looked at him it seemed as if he had seen right through her. What he said next confirmed her suspicions.

"Then it's on the house."

"Ah! But I can't just –"

He held a hand up to silence her. "I won't let someone buy their own birthday cake. Go on. Enjoy the rest of your day." He reached beside him and plucked a vivant red-leafed plant from a thin vase and placed it in her bag, a few of the leaves sticking out. "And happy birthday, miss."

Lucy stared at the plant questioningly. "What's this?"

"_Acalypha wilkesiana._ The Fire Dragon Plant."

It wasn't the prettiest of plants Lucy had seen, but she appreciated the gesture and had to admit that it had its own kind of beauty. The edges of the leaves were lined in bright red while the insides were more of a darker maroon color. Plus, it was kind of cute to receive a plant from the genus family that the town was named after. It made her feel somewhat special that a citizen of Acalypha was giving her something that he would consider precious.

Lucy bowed to him briefly and thanked him, turning to run from the store as he waved her off. She ran all the way back to the inn she was residing at, clutching the paper bag tightly in her hands to ensure the contents inside weren't shifted too much.

Once she was back in her room, she took the containers out of the bag and placed them on the table next to her bed. Then, she pulled out the drawer to retrieve a box of candles and a box of matches. She placed a single candle in the slice of cake and lit it, staring at the dancing flame.

It was her first birthday away from home, but it most certainly was not her first celebrated alone. She had done this many times before – sneaking a slice of cake or a cupcake from the kitchen, lighting a birthday candle and…

She began to hum to herself, the sound so loud in her deathly quiet in her apartment. She spoke no words, just hummed the tune, but she pictured all of the maids and servants back at Heartfilia Konzern surrounding her with smiles gracing their faces as they sang to her. She imagined a large cake – towering over her with its height – decorated beautifully by their personal chefs and lit with dozens of candles as her wide eyes would take in the tooth decaying sight. Right behind her would be her parents, their smiling faces looking down with affection and pride as their beloved daughter turned another year older, another year wiser. They'd be singing along with everyone else, she could hear them now…

_Happy birthday dear, Lucy_

Tears streamed down her face as she shakily blew out the candle. She lifted the slice of cake to her lap, staring down at it with such sorrow and pain that suddenly, it didn't look so appetizing.

Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes desperately, refusing to cry on her special day. Running away from home was probably the best thing she could've done for herself, but now all she wanted was to curl up in her bed where she was sure that her maids would wish her a happy birthday and promise to have a special meal cooked up, just for her. And maybe, for once, her father would remember.

Of course, that was all just wishful thinking of a broken heart.

Lucy set down the cake in favor of the cookies and as she reached over, she noticed a bit of red poking out of the paper bag she had dropped to the ground carelessly earlier. Reaching in, she found the leafy plant the man had gifted her earlier, in all its bright and red glory.

Getting up to place it in a cup of water, Lucy stroked the leaves of the plant gently and watched in awe as the light caught on them, creating a fiery effect.

"The Fire Dragon Plant, huh? Never heard of it," she mused to herself. Then again, even though she enjoyed learning and reading as a child, she didn't typically get into gardening or biology subjects. Fingering the smooth leaves between her fingers, she noticed out of the corner of her eye a crinkled piece of paper. It was the map of Fiore she had snagged in the first village she had stumbled upon and it's been guiding her way ever since. Lucy walked back to her bed with the map clutched in her hands and nibbled on her cookies as she scanned over the map.

It was time to keep moving. While the quaint town she was currently in was nice enough, Lucy still needed to see more. She needed to achieve more and build up her magic if she wanted to get into the guild of her dreams. Her eyes were drawn to the big red circle that stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the relatively bland map and thought immediately of Fairy Tail, her ultimate goal.

She'd become strong and increase her magic power, just like mama, and then they'd _have_ to let her join! However, it wasn't near time to go to Magnolia just yet, despite the fact that it was only a day's walk away. Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought as she scanned the map for places she hadn't been (which in truth were very many).

The closest one she could think of was Hargeon, probably not even half a day away by foot. It was close and still within reach of Magnolia - just by the off chance that Fairy Tail members noticed her were around to notice her magnificent skills and offer her a membership.

Lucy laughed at the notion and took another bite of her cookie, chewing happily. "As if that would happen!" Yet still, there was something about Hargeon that intrigued her and urged her to go.

"Well," she said to herself quietly, putting the map aside and looking up at the plant sitting on the windowsill on the other side of the room. "To Hargeon I go!"

* * *

Excitement bubbled up in her stomach, ready to explode at moment's notice.

She had done it! She had made it into Fairy Tail! With the help of a odd and destructive pink-haired guy and his blue, talking and flying cat, she had finally achieved her goal of joining the guild of her dreams. Speaking of the two…

Lucy looked back over to the pinkette – Natsu – who was sprawled out on the train seat, looking greener than freshly grown grass. His cat – Happy – was comforting him the best he could, but it seemed nothing quelled the mage's odd motion sickness. The celestial mage chuckled to herself quietly, almost doubting this was the same man from before who had completely trashed a town.

She could still see the dancing flames of all of the fire burning buildings and houses.

Just like the plant the kind-hearted man had given her on her birthday.

"Hey, Natsu?"

His grumbled response was his only answer.

"Have you ever heard of the Fire Dragon Plant?"

Natsu looked up at her with a wobbly frown. "What kind of weird stuff are you talking about now?"

"Yeah, weird!" Happy chimed in.

Lucy pursed her lips in annoyance and looked out the window, arms crossed. "Oh forget it!"

She heard him take in a breath in preparation to retort but immediately the muffled gagging of him trying to hold in vomit and the cat urging him to take it easy. Natsu's moaning and groaning filled their cabin for the rest of the trip to Magnolia, home of Fairy Tail.

Home of her new family.

_Birthday wishes come true in the oddest of ways, right Mama?_


End file.
